There Was No Father
by JediMindTrick
Summary: Shmi Skywalker always thought her son Anakin was conceived of the Force. Little does she know...


**_There Was No Father…_**

"You're thinking about him again…aren't you, dear?" Cliegg Lars walked into the dining area of his humble home on Tatooine, wherein he found his wife, Shmi Skywalker Lars sitting at the table. Shmi was holding a piece of paper, which had become wet from her tears. In fact, what was on the paper was almost unreadable because the ink had run so many times from so many lonely nights the author had spent with it.

Shmi dried her eyes and cleared her throat. "Oh, I am fine, Cliegg. You know how much I miss Ani sometimes. It's like, some days it feels like an eternity since he left me, and others, like it was just yesterday."

Cliegg sat at the table right next to his beloved and put his hands on hers. He looked down at the paper – not too closely though, as he always respected his wife's privacy. "What's that you have there?"

Shmi smiled, "This old thing? It's just a silly old poem I wrote about the same time Anakin left with Qui-Gon. I can't believe I've held on to it this long."

Cliegg wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "Shmi, my beautiful wife, I'm sure it's not silly. And of course you've held on to it; anything that reminds you of your boy is alright by me." He paused for a moment, and then looked her in the eyes, "Care to read it to me?"

"You really want to hear it?"

Cliegg hugged his wife, "Of course I want to hear it."

Shmi stood up and walked over to the other side of the room. The nervous wife held the paper out in front of her like she was about to give a speech to a big audience. "Okay, but you must promise not to laugh."

Cliegg held up his right hand, "I promise."

Shmi cleared her throat once more, and began to read…"It is called, 'One Love'."

_Don't look back _

_before you go _

_eyes forward _

_choices to make _

_dreams to realize _

_don't look back _

_before you go _

_know the truth _

_learn to let go_

_don't look back _

_before you go _

_before you leave _

_me_

The orator fell to her knees and began crying hysterically, as if all her emotions were rushing back to her in one fell swoop. Cliegg hurried over to Shmi, and quickly began to console her.

"Shmi, my love, you did the right thing. I'm sure Anakin is the finest Jedi in the universe by now."

Shmi looked up at her husband, "I do not doubt that, Cliegg. It's just that, in the poem, I tell Ani to let go, and it is really me who cannot seem to let go. I'm just so attached to that boy, I can't stand it."

Cliegg, although a loving man, was not always good with words, especially when it was hard for him to relate. "Well, we just need to hope and pray that one day, you get to see him again. And when you do, you will be so proud."

Mrs. Lars grabbed her husband's hands tightly, "I hope so, honey. I hope so."

Shmi was normally a sound sleeper. Nighttime was her favorite part of the day because for just a few short hours, she could forget how lonely she was everyday. That night though, she tossed and turned almost constantly, sweating profusely. Suddenly, she arose from her dream state unbelievably frightened. "Please, no!"

Cliegg got up as well, equally as frightened, "What is it, Shmi? What's wrong?"

"I…I don't know. I guess it was just a bad dream." Shmi rubbed her temples as if she had a splitting headache.

"Do you remember what it was about?" Cliegg rubbed her shoulders, trying to calm her down, and perhaps himself as well.

"No, I just remember…a Hutt laughing?" Shmi turned to her husband, "What could that mean?"

Cliegg scratched his unshaven face, which he often did while he was thinking. "I can't say. But if you think of anything else in the dream, please tell me."

"I will. I will." Shmi whispered quietly to herself, "I just wish Anakin were here right now."

The next day, Shmi went for an early morning walk with her stepson, Owen. The two had actually become quite close over the years. Although he was no "little Ani," Owen was a good boy, and a loyal son.

They walked in silence as the first sun rose over the horizon. Shmi, with her arms crossed, smiled and looked over to Owen, "Do you believe in destiny, Owen?"

Owen turned back, a bit confused from the off-the-wall question, "How do you mean, Mom?"

"What I am asking is, do you think everything happens as it should to keep the universe in order, or do you think things just happen randomly?"

"Well," Owen looked down, gently kicking some of the sand as he walked, "I don't know for sure. But I sure as heck know you ended up on Tatooine for a reason. And then those Jedi showed up – that had to be fate."

Shmi grabbed his hand as they walked, "I suppose you are right about that."

"Anyway, didn't you say Anakin just came out of nowhere? You know that's got to be destiny!"

She smiled and looked up at Owen, "Yes, that is true. You are a smart boy, Owen Lars." Right then, Shmi fell back and landed on the sand, as if some invisible wall had hit her at an incredible rate of speed.

"Mom!" Owen helped his stepmother to her feet, patting the sand off her outfit. "Are you feeling okay? Do you feel sick?"

"I feel sick, Owen," Shmi looked down and shook her head, "but the pain is not in my body. It is in my soul."

"I don't understand."

"When I fell down, I saw an image of a man, old and wrinkled, yet very scary. His face was enough to frighten the living daylights out of me. And…"

Owen grabbed her shoulders, "What? And what?"

"He…he had red eyes. Red eyes, I swear it. By the Force, that devil had red eyes!"

"Who? What devil? Who are you talking about?" The concern in Owen's voice was remarkable. He just wished he could be of more help.

"I…I have no idea, son. Maybe I'm just going crazy."

Owen grinned and attempted to reassure Shmi, "Oh, you're not going crazy. I've seen crazy, and you're not it. Maybe this heat is getting to you already. Let's get back inside."

"Thank you, Owen," the two walked back to the homestead hand in hand, closer than they had ever been before.

That evening, the Lars invited Owen's girlfriend, Beru, over for dinner and some card games. Cliegg, Owen, and Beru played a friendly game of Dantooine Double-hand in the living area while Shmi worked diligently in the kitchen.

"Whose deal is it?" Cliegg asked like a true dealer in a casino.

Beru responded softly, "Mine, I think, sir."

"Then go for it, dear." As Beru began dealing the cards, Cliegg turned to his son and asked, "So son, what do you think of all these systems defecting from the Republic?"

Owen shook his head in disgust, "Does it matter, father? I mean, no one cares about Tatooine anyway. If everyone just minded their own business without worrying about the rest of the universe, I think we'd all be a lot better off. It's not like I'm getting off this rock anytime soon, so I could care less."

"Maybe you should." Cliegg got his full hand. "Thank you, Miss Beru. Anakin left to help out and become a Jedi; don't you think that was a noble gesture?"

"He left his mother – the only person who's ever loved and cared for him – to go on some damn idealistic crusade, so he can go to—"

Owen's speech was interrupted by the loud crashing sound of dishes in the other room. The three card players rushed into the kitchen to find Shmi with her hands on the counter and her head hanging low.

Cliegg rushed to her aid once again, "Shmi! What's going on? Did you have another vision?"

"No, Cliegg," Shmi responded, with almost no emotion at all. "Just…a voice."

Owen beat his father to the question, "What did the voice say?"

"He said…" Shmi paused, and turned around to the three of them, "I am the Force."

Beru, caring but a bit naïve, asked kindly, "Maybe it was your son. Maybe you've got some kind of connection to Anakin. He is a great Jedi, so that's pretty much being like the Force, from what I've heard about it."

Shmi smiled ever so slightly at Beru, admiring her loving heart, "No, Beru. Thank you, that is a nice sentiment, but I don't think so. My son was a kind boy, but the way I keep hearing this phrase over and over in my head, it does not sound kind at all. It sounds downright…evil." Everyone in the room just looked down to the ground, not knowing what to say, until Shmi broke the silence. "Dinner is on the table. I'm sorry, I don't think I will be able to join you. I think I'm going to go to bed now."

Cliegg held his arms outstretched to his wife, "Shall I join you, dear?"

"No thank you, Cliegg." Shmi began to walk out of the room. "I just want to be alone right now. Thank you for coming for dinner, Beru. Goodnight all."

Shmi arose the next morning to find her husband had slept in the living area, respecting her wish to be alone. That's why she loved that man so much. Laying on the couch, Cliegg looked cold, so Shmi covered him with a blanket and got dressed to go pick mushrooms off the moisture vaporators as she always did each morning. Before she left, Shmi gave Cliegg a kiss on the forehead and whispered, "Goodbye, my dear. I love you."

After completing her task about a short time later, Shmi packed up her things and started back to the homestead. The dedicated wife and mother walked briskly, hoping to make her two men breakfast before they awoke. Cliegg loved waking up to the smell of grilled Bantha meat in the morning – that was his favorite. Shmi didn't want to kid herself either – she was starving too.

"I am the Force."

Shmi tripped and fell to the ground. She rolled over, and saw a shadowy figure in a cloak standing over top of her. She had never seen him before, but somehow, she knew exactly who it was. "You!"

"You remember that, don't you?" the dark man asked in an eerie monotone voice.

Shmi crawled backwards, hoping desperately to get away, but knowing in her heart she could not escape. After all, maybe this was her destiny. "Get back, you demon!"

"A demon? I think not. In fact, you should thank me. As a slave, I gave you what no one else could…a son."

She could not force herself to stand up, but Shmi responded proudly, "You lie! Anakin was born of the Force itself!"

"Do not flatter yourself, woman. You were nothing but a means to an end."

Shmi's anger grew intensely, "What are you talking about?"

"Many years ago, I saw how corrupt the Republic and its filthy Jedi were becoming, so I foresaw a man who would save us all from the grip of tyranny. I saw a man who walked among the clouds. And that is when the Force brought me to Gardulla the Hutt."

Shmi froze as images flooded her brain. Was this man telling the truth?

"I asked the Hutt if he knew anyone who fit that description, and that's when he showed me to you. We were going to make a child together, I told him. He laughed at the idea, no good slime that he was. You were a little more weak minded than I had hoped, but that was fine. I convinced you that it was the will of the Force that we have a child, and you agreed. I left you with the words 'I am the Force,' and nine months later, you bore a child, thinking it was the Force itself which impregnated you. Now our little Anakin will serve me well one day."

"My Anakin will kill you with his bare hands before he serves you, you monster!"

"Stupid woman. Thanks to you, the Sith will rise again. But of course, we can't have you telling Anakin our little secret, can we?"

The cloaked man's hands rose, and from his fingers came blue lightning which crippled the helpless Shmi Skywalker. Happy with his work, the shadow of a man departed, leaving her for dead in the middle of the desert. Moments later, a clan of Tusken Raiders arrived…

Cue "Episode II: Attack of the Clones" intro music


End file.
